Project Independence: Singapore

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Transcript of Project Independence: Singapore

The want for independence started when the British abandoned Singapore to defend their home country.Project Independence:Singapore!In 1959...British: Now, they would control only the police, the armed forces and foreign relations in Singapore. Independence!So Singapore finally gained independence, and now we celebrate National Day on every 9 Aug! :DBy: Si Ying (6), Sarah (7), Rui En (14), Tricia (19) and Damien (24)The process in how Singapore achieved independence, varying between conflict and cooperation.

Who were the main parties involved in the process?Britain, Malaysia and of course, Singapore were the main parties involved in Singapore's road to independence. Singapore realised it was time to have a local rule the country, to have someone who would always put Singapore a first priority.Independence!!Conflict occurs when involved parties see each others as competitors, which hence causes them to oppose each other and have different point of view and thoughts on problems, which hence leads to them to regard and treat each other as threats.Was the route to independence one of conflict or cooperation?Cooperation occurs when involved parties see each other as equals who enhance each other as they often have a common goal. Each party, through helping others, also is able to benefit from it. We will answer the question through the next few slides...

So what is conflict and cooperation?Singapore's Route to Independence which was of conflict and cooperation1824: Singapore became a British possession, and they promised to defend and protect the island and her citizens. However when the Japanese attacked Singapore in World War Two, the British fled back to their homeland to defend Britain against Germany, leaving Singapore defenseless and easily conquered by the Japanese.We can no longer trust and depend on the British or any other foreign ruler to protect us! LocalsThis developed the locals' desire for self-governance as this would mean they would be able to protect themselves from foreign invaders.

We will grant you locals some self-governance!JapaneseLocalsPost War SingaporeThe Communists took advantage of the situation....September 1945: Singapore was repossessed by the British after the surrender of Japan. However, although the British ruled Singapore again, things had changed...This shows a sense of mistrust between Singapore and the British. Conflicts occurred because of a lack of trust for each other. Hence, we can say that the British and Singapore are having a conflict. Come on, let's have riots and strikes to get more jobs and higher pay!CommunistsBritishWe don't want you to rule us anymore! We want independence!We want communist states! Let us organize more riots and strikes!LocalsLocalsCommunistsWe rule S'pore!Return of the BritishSelf-Government...?Singapore's port is profitable and the island is a good military base; we shouldn't relinquish our power! But we cannot keep our power if we do not please the citizens, who want democracy... how about we come to a compromise?British1948: The British allowed six non-official members in the Legislative Council to be elected by the people. There was a lot of conflict during this time, but there was some cooperation on the British's part as well. This lessened the conflict with S'pore.No, we still want full independence!1954: Political parties Singapore Labour Front and the People’s Action Party were formed, and fought to improve working conditions of locals and more importantly, self-government! The British further compromised.

Locals1955:David Marshall, first Chief Minister of SingaporeLondonFull self-governance at last!Please grant Singapore democracy.How about no.1956:BritishCommunists, pro-communist leaders in trade unions and Chinese middle schools Strikes! Strikes! Riots! Riots!Lim Yew Hock With the help of British troops and the local police, Lim Yew Hock had many of them arrested and put in prison. The British saw that he would use violent means to control communism, and that he could effectively control the Communists in Singapore.

1957, in LondonPlease grant Singapore democracy.Democracy granted.Rioters being detained by the police after the communists instigated riotsI failed... I should step down.Thus, Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister of the State of Singapore. The P.A.P. government was the first fully democratic government of Singapore. A few months later, Yusoff Ishak became the Head of State.Government: Local representatives were now allowed into the government and would have full control of all other matters of government.Evening of 3 June: Many came to the Padang in front of the City Hall to celebrate the Singapore’s independence from the British Empire. But that was not the end of Singapore's problems...UnemploymentPoor housingLack of EducationUrgent problems the local government faced...Singapore as a young nation, did not have the resources or economy to develop and solve these problemsP.A.P. LeadersWe need to merge with another country that is more developed economically, larger in size; another country that could help solve and develop Singapore... Malaysia!Benefits from Merging:Resources: Singapore could gain access to Malaysia’s vast resources and use them to manufacture goodsProtection from communistsIndependence form the BritishCreate a common market, and remove the tariff barrier between the two countries. Both countries could also increase their market and consumer base at the same time. Why merge?Tengku Abdul Rahman,Malaysian Prime MinisterThe communists in Singapore could overpower the P.A.P. and form a communist government that will next try to overpower us! We should merge with Singapore to keep an eye on Communist Activities.16th September 1963: Singapore merged with Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia. However throughout this merge, the P.A.P. and the Alliance Party in Kuala Lumpur never saw eye to eye...Although there was cooperation present through the merge of Singapore and Malaysia, each country had different reasons for wanting to merge and treated it as an easy way to solve their own problems. When one party has decided that its problem has been solved, it will want to break the agreement; therefore this display of cooperation between Singapore and Malaysia would be short-lived.

End of the Merger...What were the reasons leading to a smooth/violent transfer of power?There was some violence involved, but the transfer of power was not COMPLETELY violent.“Most of the problems facing Singapore arise out of the high rate of population growth. The dependency problem is great – about two-thirds of the population depend on the productivity of a third. Social service requirements – health, education, and housing – to match the population growth would involve heavy investment.” Source: Extract from State of Singapore, Development Plan 1961 - 1964 (1961) p. 18.

And thus....

PoliticalPoliticalEconomicEconomicCommon market happened too slowlyMalaysiaWe should have a Bumiputra system, so Malays can get certain privileges!SingaporeNo, there should be a meritocratic system, where all races get equal privileges!P.A.P.Alliance PartyVote for us! We care for the people!No, we're better! You're stealing our voters!Malaysian government introduced new taxes (40% to 60%)Clashed with Singapore's idea of economic growthMalaysiaSingaporeLet's be partners and work together for a better economic future!MalaysiaSingaporeThey're our economic rivals...Instead...Here, we can see that there was disagreement between the two parties even though they were merged, which shows that conflicts can occur after cooperation. Eventually, disagreements became so serious that riots broke out in Singapore in July and September 1964.

The relationship between the P.A.P. and the Malay Alliance leaders turned from bad to worse. PAP and the Alliance Party leaders had different ideas and feelings which were conflicting. The PAP and Alliance Party never came to an agreement Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew tried to make a deal but failed, which eventually resulted in their separation from each other on 9 August 1965. There were many reasons for the end of the merger, both economic and political:When the conflict is too big to solve, or when too many conflicts occur over time and are left unsolved, the relationship of involved parties that were actually cooperating can turn sour and eventually be broken off, like what happened to Singapore and Malaysia. When cooperation involves compromises, which does not always work, it can lead to even further conflict. Therefore, although conflict and cooperation were both present in Singapore’s route to independence, conflict was present to a greater extent than cooperation in Singapore’s route to independence. Let's go back to our original question...Was the route to independence one of conflict or cooperation?Singapore’s route to independence consisted of both conflict and cooperation.Why do we say so? How was conflict and cooperation present in Singapore's route to independence?In Lee Kuan Yew’s memoir, Life and Times of Lee Kuan Yew, he aptly writes; some countries are born independent. Singapore had independence thrust upon it. Indeed, our independence was not violent physically, but it was definitely not peaceful and smooth-sailing.From Malaysia to Singapore: The transfer of power had some physical violence, but only to a certain extent. It was more shocking and devastating than violent for Singapore.. There was much tension between the Chinese and Malays. Combined with the conflict we have shown just now, there was no smooth transfer of power. From British to Singapore: The transfer of power was relatively smooth, since the British came to a compromise even though there were communist riots. It was because they saw Lim Yew Hock's capability in keeping communist activities under control, that they granted Singapore all aspects of independence apart from foreign affairs and defence.BOARD PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATE IN SINGAPORE (1965)Singapore' Respond to British Rule after WW2Divided LandSingapore RejectedBibliographyPrimary